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Jujitsu what is it?

Jujitsu the gentle art… a traditional martial art employing kicks, strikes, throws, locks, strangles, chokes and ground work. Modern ju-jitsu also employs, well jus about anything: including biting, scratching, pulling hair, head butting, heel stomping and grabbing any other sensitive parts of an attackers anatomy that may come to hand!

Jujitsu (also spelt variously asJujutsu, Ju-jitsu, Jiu-jitsu, Jutsu etc.) was originally a generic term for all the ancient Japanese fighting arts.

How they originated and where from isn’t exactly clear, though it is generally accepted that the core techniques came from India and China, slowly evolving over time on the battlefields of feudal Japan by the samurai warriors.

These battlefield techniques were practised in secret, between loyal clan members only. Samurai warrior’s caught trading techniques with rival clans risked severe punishment, even death. In the 15th century, a system known as Yawara-ge (“peacemaker”), involving armed and unarmed grappling combat came into existence, followed by similar systems associated with other combat schools.

These schools, (Ryu) are generally accepted as being responsible for Jujitsu’s creation as a collection of fighting combat techniques.

When the samurai declined in importance during the 19th century, Jujitsu became a study in physical and mental discipline rather than a tool for the battlefield. It was one of the first martial arts to be adopted by western practitioners (see Barton-Wright) and is used by many combat and police forces across the world in their training regimes.

Although jujitsu does involve the study and use of traditional weapons, it is more commonly perceived as an un-armed defensive art, encompassing all the combat ranges, close-in, stand up and on the ground.

It has been successfully employed by competitors in no-holds barred competitions since the early eighties, when the famous Gracie family bought their unique Brazilian Ju-jitsu to the world combat stage. They made such an impact that many non jujitsu fighters began to supplement their regular training with jujitsu or judo like techniques. Jujitsu is a also referred to as ‘parent art’, the founding base from which other martial arts have developed, notably the arts of Judo and Aikido.

Jigoro Kano, judo’s founding father, disregarded some of ju-jitsu’s more dangerous, combat orientated elements and concentrated on the throwing aspects in the creation of his art. While Ueshiba Morihei, the founder of Aikido utilised and developed his own style of throws and locks reliant on the opponent’s momentum. Apart from Judo’s more senior grades and some Aikido variations, neither system uses strikes or kicks to disable an attacker – a key tactical element in ju-jitsu or at least in the techniques taught by International Atemi Jujitsu.

The ancient samurai warriors would undoubtedly recognise many of the techniques used by Jujitsu practitioners today but, without the idiosyncrasies of style and traditionalism that hamper some other systems, Jujitsu has evolved (as it still does) into a well rounded self defence system – well suited to modern defence needs.

Our instructors teach a mixture of traditional and modern techniques adapted from other martial arts styles, not necessarily just ju-jitsu. We do not market, advertise or teach a style or system – we do not regard what we teach as a system, just an extensive arsenal of ever evolving defensive jujitsu techniques.